IU Northwest to host May 22 public meeting on proposed bio-waste ethanol plant in Gary

Representatives of Evansville-based Genahol Powers LLC will discuss the possibility of constructing a facility on 100 acres near the Norfolk Southern Railroad

On Thursday, May 22, the Indiana University Northwest Department of Minority Studies Environmental Justice Partnership, in collaboration with the Revitalization First Collaborative and the Interfaith Federation, will host a public meeting with representatives of Evansville-based Genahol Powers LLC about its proposal to construct a bio-waste ethanol plant on 100 acres of property near the Norfolk Southern Railroad in Gary. Genahol Powers is one of two companies that has applied for a contract with the Lake County Solid Waste Management District to dispose of solid waste by converting it into ethanol fuel.

The meeting will be held in the IU Northwest Library Conference Center beginning at 6:30 p.m. and lasting until approximately 9 p.m. Genahol representatives will provide details about their proposal for the plant and the site.

Genahol’s plan calls for a facility that would process up to 10,000 tons of waste each day. The plant would “gasify” (burn under special conditions) the solid waste and use the resulting gas to produce ethanol. The project has been touted as an environmentally friendly alternative to landfill use.

IU Northwest is pleased to welcome interested members of the Northwest Indiana community to this public meeting. For more information, contact the Interfaith Federation at (219) 886-3647, or contact Associate Professor of Minority Studies Earl Jones, Ph.D., at (219) 980-6704.

The Library Conference Center is located on the south side of campus between Adams and Washington Streets on 35th Avenue. Parking will be available in the main campus parking lot at 33rd Avenue and Broadway and also in the Sycamore Hall parking lot, located at the southeast corner of 35th and Jefferson.